Rekindling the strength of an Indian ardor at the Harvard Business School… New dean, Nitin Nohria, is truly proud of his heritage and his dynamic grooming at IIT-Bombay — Nitin Nohria

The technocratic civilization has made colossal strides world over, amidst which India stands tall and proud. Nitin Nohria, an iconic Indian, heads an iconic institute, Harvard Business School, as a dean. Nohria’s profile is the testimony of his expertise not only in his subject but also in harboring a perfect attitude of generosity. After graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology -Bombay (IIT-B) in Chemical Engineering in 1984, he went on to receive a doctoral degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1988, immediately after which he joined Harvard Business School and served in the prestigious position of the Richard P Chapman Professor of Business Administration since 1999. He has also published several significant works in his field.
Nitin Nohria is truly proud of his heritage and his dynamic grooming at IIT-Bombay. He believes that he would not have achieved anything without the significant contribution of IIT-Bombay in shaping his personality and enhancing his mental dexterity. He was able to make a big leap (by entering Harvard Business School) only because of the strong foundation developed at IIT-Bombay with which he explored extraordinary opportunities with Harvard Business School (HBS). Over the last 22 years, he has traveled across the world and performed research in almost all parts of the world. And that has given him a global perspective that he thinks is very useful in shaping contemporary businesses and business education.
Nohria has been able to keep the four drives (Drive to Acquire, Drive to Bond, Drive to Learn and Drive to Defend) in perfect balance. He pursued the first drive which is achievement (drive) and feels proud of his successful career. For ‘the drive to bond’, he feels blessed for the bonds he has with his family and friends. Being an academician, he certainly pursues the drive to learn each day and all the time and this is the most important drive for him to which he is sincerely committed. And in terms of the drive to defend, he stood for a cause, a cause to defend the terror attacks in Mumbai.
According to him, IIT-Bombay taught him to grapple and survive under any circumstance and because of which he has successfully survived the challenges at America. He feels very indebted to his alma mater, IIT-Bombay, for having prepared him for the vicissitudes of life. He completely trusts that he couldn’t have been at HBS without having imbibed the leaning at IIT-Bombay.
Harvard President Drew Faust chose Professor Nitin Nohria as the tenth Dean of Harvard Business School. A scholar of leadership and organizational change, Professor Nohria joined HBS in 1988 and has served the school in several capacities like that of the head of the organizational behavior unit, as senior ol’s leadership initiative. Professor Nitin Nohria was awarded with a medal for the distinguished alumnus in 2007 in IIT-Bombay. He earned the outstanding doctoral thesis award in behavioral and policy sciences while pursuing his Ph.D. in management from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He is a co-author of 16 books, including “What Really Works: The 4+2 Formula for Sustained Business Success,” which is a systematic large-scale study of management practices that truly differentiates business winners. His most recent, Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice, is a compendium dedicated to advancing research on leadership based on a colloquium he organized during HBS’s centennial celebrations.associate dean for faculty development, and as co-chair of the school’s leadership initiative. Professor Nitin Nohria was awarded with a medal for the distinguished alumnus in 2007 in IIT-Bombay. He earned the outstanding doctoral thesis award in behavioral and policy sciences while pursuing his Ph.D. in management from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He is a co-author of 16 books, including “What Really Works: The 4+2 Formula for Sustained Business Success,” which is a systematic large-scale study of management practices that truly differentiates business winners. His most recent, Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice, is a compendium dedicated to advancing research on leadership based on a colloquium he organized during HBS’s centennial celebrations.
Professor Nitin Nohria, in his own teaching and research exemplifies the school’s (Harvard) strong commitment to both academic rigor and its relevance to practice. He has a global outlook and an instinct of collaboration across territorial boundaries that promise to don the Business School with new panorama. He not only studies leadership but embodies qualities of leadership in how he engages with people and ideas, how he thinks about organizational change, and how he sees the consequential challenges facing business schools and the business world. He is someone with both a deep knowledge of HBS and its distinctive culture and a clear appetite for innovation and change in the service of reeminence among business schools world wide.sustaining HBS’s preeminence among business schools world wide.
“I feel a profound sense of responsibility with business education at an inflection point, we must strive to equip future leaders with competence & character,” says Professor Nitin Nohria.
Nohria who succeeds Jay Light believes that an individual has to be different and distinct in order to achieve something substantial and should “think out of box” which he was lucky enough to have been taught by IIT-Bombay.
His experimental mind always searched for new and novel ideas. For hours together he used to experiment with different chemicals in the laboratory at IIT-Bombay. His professors did recognize his potential and understood that he was a perfect cut out for management as well which he later on proved to be the one. His academic interests include the theory and practice of leadership, the study of human motivation, the analysis of management practices critical to corporate success, and the strategic and organizational challenges of globalization.
According to him leadership suffers intellectual neglect and has yet to be considered a serious academic discipline and as an academician he focuses on developing leaders who can make a difference in the world. In his opinion, business leaders play a crucial role in shaping industries and in turn how the evolving context of industries shapes leaders.
A scholar of leadership and organizational change, Nohria has always played a significant role in his approach towards academia, a trend he intends to carry forward into his administration. Nitin Nohria opines that Harvard has always been committed to coming into India, and he too looks forward to strengthen the ties.Nohria’s appointment breaks one of the highest glass ceilings in the world and with India’s importance on the global economic stage on the ascent; Nohria has plans to take HBS’s India initiatives forward.
With Nohria taking the reins of one of the world’s most iconic universities, it is believed that he will strengthen the relationship between Harvard and Indian Academia. He will take up new initiatives and case studies that will be developed at HBS with focus on India. His continuous profound sense of responsibility for ongoing Harvard Business School’s proud legacy of groundbreaking ideas and revolutionary educational experiences will strive to equip future leaders with the competence and character to address emerging global business and social challenges. He is happy to work with the School’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni to forge a vision for Harvard Business School that will enable it to remain a beacon for business education for the next 100 years.
An IIT-Bombay alumnus certainly proves his mettle by occupying one of the prestigious positions in the world. He says, “If you are generous, life gives you more than you can imagine”. ‘Generosity’ is one of the important values that has made him a good student and a renowned academician and a much loved business teacher.
For Nohria, to laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived- maintaining simplicity and generosity are life’s basic lessons.